Orthodox Sermons & Articles

 

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to  Jerusalem. There was the Sheep Gates in Jerusalem and beside them was a pool. That pool was built only for one reason -- to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain. All Israel knew that once a year an Angel of God came down in the pool and the first person who stepped in after moving water became cured of whatever illness he or she had. We can imagine how many people were waiting for that movement of water. As Gospel witnesses, in five porches of the pool there were laying a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed. 

 

Now there was a certain man who had been waiting for thirty-eight years -- not hours, not days or weeks, or months -- but a lifetime! Yet, every time the water moved, someone entered before him and he was left behind to wait on. Can you imagine the frustration, the utter depression, the hopelessness that must have gripped this man each time someone else stepped into the waters and was healed?

 

Then Jesus looked on him with compassion. As the Son of God, He knew that the paralytic had been lying there for a long time, and He said to him: Do you want to be made well? Why Jesus asks this question? He knew that everyone lying by the pool was waiting for healing, and he asks such question. But Jesus wanted to show to all people patience of that man and his strong faith in God. The Paralytic learned how to explain his problem briefly, almost with a cold simplicity and clarity. Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me. Indeed, this man needs help, and Jesus helps him. He commands the man: Rise, take up your bed and walk. 

 

The Angel of the Lord came and troubled the water, so now the Lord Himself came and really stirred up the water for this man. The Gospel writer says: And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. But now comes the trouble: He did this on the Sabbath Day. As you know, Jewish people do not work on this day and because of that Jews said to the former paralytic that it is not lawful for him to carry his bed. They did not look at the great miracle Jesus did and at the man’s liberation from bad illness. Instead of that they wanted to fulfill the letter of the Law of Moses. There is no compassion in such their step neither is love to that man. But he answered to them: He, Who made me well, said to me, “Take up your bad and walk.” The Pharisees asked him about the Man Who told him to take his bed and walk, but the former paralytic did not tell them, for he did not know because having healed him Jesus had withdrawn. The Pharisees were frustrated. They were angry, for they would have accused Him of conspiring to break the Sabbath.

 

When Jesus later met the man in the Temple, He said to him: See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. Now we can see that this man’s paralysis was the result of sin and he was made well by forgiveness of sins.

 

Dear brothers and sisters, let’s compare ourselves with that Paralytic. We all are in spiritual paralysis when we sin. Our soul is paralyzed by sins as well as the Paralytic was paralyzed by illness. But we have an opportunity to be healed from our sins by the power of the Holy Spirit in Sacrament of Penitence. And we can be healed every day by asking for forgiveness. We do not have to wait thirty-eight years.

 

In this story we see the man who had a firm hope and faith in God. His bad illness could not take him away from true belief that one day he will be healed. Sometimes, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we forget about reason of our life. Some people see the reason of their life in career, some in their children, some in entertainment. But reason of life can be only in life. We are born to be with God forever. God had done all we need for our salvation. Now everything depends on us, on our attitude to the world. Therefore, we have to strive to fulfill God’s commandments, we have to ask God for help.

 

As we saw in the story today, the Paralytic was waiting for healing for lifetime, but he received healing from God because of his firm faith and hope in him. We, people, think that God does not want to give us fortune or health; we even blame the Lord in our misfortune. But in today’s Gospel reading we saw that the Son of God comes to His people to help them. It means that God’s Grace is shining upon us, His people, always. And if we do not receive it then we are holding some kind of spiritual umbrella above our heads, then our sin or sins make the spiritual screen and we are unable to receive that God’s Grace. So, by  giving our free will to God we open that screen and Divine Grace can shine upon us. Today we learn that we have to be patient, we have to ask God for help, we have to open our hearts to Him freely, and we have to follow Him to His Kingdom by fulfilling His commandments. God’s commandments are the only way to find and to inherit the Heavenly Kingdom. Let’s, dear brothers and sisters, come to Church more often and to learn much more about following Christ and about our salvation. Amen.